Switch



May 18, 1948. R, LAN5|NG 2,441,888

SWITCH Filed March 6, 1945 W E? M.

AT TORNEIY Patented May 18, 1948 SWITCH Raymond P. Lansing, Montclair, N. J., assignor to Bendix Aviation Corporation, Teterboro, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Continuation of application Serial No. 443,007, May 14, 1942, which is a division of application Serial No. 321,142, February 27, 1940, which latter is a division of application Serial No. 493,397, November 4, 1930. This application March 6, 1945, Serial No. 581,259

. 7 Claims. 01. 200-16) My invention relates to electrical controls and more particularly to switches for operating a plurality of circuits; this application for Letters Patent being a continuation of my co-pending application No. 443,007 filed May 14, 1942, which is a division of application No. 321,142 filed February 27, 1940 and now Patent No. 2,311,764; the last identified application being a division of my parent application No. 493,397, filed November 4, 1930, and now Patent No. 2,195,151.

One object of my invention is to provide a switch so constructed and arranged whereby the same may be selectively actuated to open or close one of a plurality of circuits.

Another object of my invention is to provide a switch of the foregoing described character which is simple in construction, durable in use, eificient in operation and economical in manufacture.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby willbe readily understood by those skilled in the art.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference character's designate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a switch constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the switch depicted on a somewhat larger scale with respect to Figure 1.

My novel switch, as illustrated in the drawing, is of a type adaptable for use in controlling the energization of electro-magnetic devices utilized in conjunction with engine starters or the like and comprises a housing assembly provided with a pair of spaced end sections 6 and 1 constructed of electrical insulated material and formed with cup-like chambers 8 and 9 opening towards each other and in which are disposed pairs of spaced contact fingers or members I 0 and II fixed to the housing assembly by pairs of binding posts I2 and I3 respectively. The binding posts I2 are connected toleads I24 and I27 of one side of a circuit while the posts I3 are connected to leads I29 and I30 of one side of another circuit, an example of the circuits and their arrangement being disclosed in the aforementioned Patents Nos. 2,195,151 and 2,311,764.

The confronting open ends of the chambers 8 and 9 are closed by means of closure members, walls or stops I4 and I5 secured to the oppositely disposed end faces of the sections 6 and I and are formed with apertures I6- and I! for slidably accommodating therethrough cylindriform actuators I8 and I9 respectively. The actuators are formed with adjacent flanges 20 and are slidably mountedon an actuating rod 2i extending longitudinally through the housing assembly and the apertures I6 and I1 of the walls I4 and I5. One end of the actuating rod 2I is provided with a finger-piece 22 for effecting its operation and has fixed thereto, between the flanges 20, a pin 23 for operating the actuators I8- and I9 upon movement of the rod as hereinafter made apparent. Within the chambers 8 and 9, the rod has loosely mounted thereon cylinders 24 and 25 constructed of insulating material for normally engaging the contact fingers I0 and II respectively and maintaining the fingers of each pair spaced from each other.

The cylinders 24 and 25 areprovided with collars or bridges 26 and 21, respectively, constructed of electrical conducting material for engaging and bridging the respective pairs of contact fingers. Disposed about the actuating rod 2I, between the outermost walls 28 and 29 of the chambers and the cylinders 24 and 25, are springs 30 and 3| respectively which serve to urge the cylinders towards the walls I4 and I5 to maintain the bridges out of contact with their adjacent fingers as hereinafter described.

-In operation, assuming the parts are in a neutral position shown in the drawing and the circuits open between the binding posts I2 and I3, longitudinal movement of the actuating rod 2I to the left as viewed in the drawing, causes a corresponding longitudinal movement of the actuator I9 by reason of its engagement with the pin 23. This movement of the actuator l9 eifects shifting of the cylinder 25 to the left and causes engagement of the bridge 21 with the contact fingers I I thereby closing the circuit between the binding posts I3. When the rod 2I is thus actuated to the left, idling of the actuator I8 and cylinder 24 will be effected, the spring 30 serting to maintain the cylinder 24 in engagement with the wall I4 and against movement during such actuation, thus, maintaining the bridge 26 out of engagement with the contact fingers I0 and the circuit open between the binding posts I2. Operation of the actuating rod 2I in the opposite direction will move the actuator I8 and cylinder 24 to the right with the result that the fingers I0 will be engaged by the bridge 26 and effect closing of the circuit between the binding posts I2 the spring 3| being effective to dispose the bridge 21 out of engagement with the fingers I I by the tension exerted on the cylinder 25 thereby maintaining the circuit open between the binding posts l3.

Although only one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, various changes in the form and relative arrangements of the parts may be made to suit requirements.

What I claim is:

1. A manually controlled multiple switch system including a plurality of sets of contacts, an actuating rod, a pair of bridging members loosely mounted on said rod for engaging said sets of contacts respectively, actuating means on "said rod between said members and effective upon movement of said rod in either direction to operate one of said members into engagement with one set of contacts while the other member remains idle and out of engagement with the other set of said contacts spring means individual to each of said members for disengaging the same from its contacts, and stop means providing for definite distances of movement of said members.

2. A manually controlled multiple switch system including a plurality of sets of contacts, an actuating rod, a pair of bridging members loosely mounted on said rod for wiping contact with said sets of contacts respectively, actuating means on said rod between said members and effective upon movement of said rod in either direction to operate one of said members into engagement with one set of contacts while the other member remains idle and out of engagement with the other set of said contacts, springs mounted on said rod for urging said members out of engagement with said sets of contacts spring means individual to each of said members for disengaging the same from its contacts, and stop means providing for definite distances of movement of said members.

3. A manually controlled multiple switch comprising a housing assembly, a plurality of sets of contacts in said assembly, an actuating rod extending through said assembly, a pair of bridging members loosely mounted on said rod for wiping contact with said sets of contacts respectively, spring means individual to each of said members for disengaging the same from its contacts, and actuating means on said rod between said members and effective upon movement of said rod in either direction to operate one of said members into engagement with one set of contacts while the other member remains idle and out of engagement with the other set of said contacts.

4. A manually controlled multiple switch comprising a housing assembly, a plurality of sets of contacts in said assembly, an actuating rod extending through said assembly, a pair of bridging members loosely mounted on said rod for wiping contact with said sets of contacts respectively, actuating means on said rod between said members and effective upon movement of said rod in either direction to operate one of said members into engagement with one set of contacts while the other member remains idle and out of engagement with the other set of said contacts, and springs individual to said members mounted on said rod within said assembly for urging said members out of engagement with said sets of contacts.

. Number 5. In a switch construction, a housing assembly of insulating material formed with a pair of spaced chambers having confronting apertured end walls, a rod slidably extending through said chambers and the apertures of said walls, a pair of contact fingers disposed in each of said chambers and carried by said assembly, a cylinder of insulating material disposed in each of said chambers and normally engaging said wall thereof, each of said cylinders being provided with a bridge for bridging a. pair of said fingers and being loosely mounted on said rod, actuating means on said rod between said cylinders and normally abutting each of said cylinders through said walls, and springs individual to said cylinders sleeved about said rod within said chambers and engaging said cylinders for urging said cylinders towards said walls respectively, said rod being longitudinally operabale in either direc-, tion to move one of said cylinders, through the medium of said actuating means, towards a pair: of said fingers to effect engagement of its bridge with said last mentioned pair of fingers while the other cylinder remains idle with its bridge out of engagement with the other pair of said fingers.

6. A multiple switch system including a plurality of contact elements, an actuating rod, conducting members loosely mounted on said rod and adapted to engage said contact elements, respectively, actuating means on said rod between said members and effective upon movement 01 said rod in either direction to operate one of said members into engagement with one of said contact elements while the other member remains idle and out of engagement with said other contact element, spring means individual to each of said members adapted to disengage the same from its contact element, and stop means providing for definite distances of movement of said members.

'7. A multiple switch system including a plurality of contact elements, an actuating rod, conducting members loosely mounted on said rod and adapted to engage said contact elements, respectively, actuating means on said rod between said members and effective upon movement of said rod in either direction to operate one of said members into engagement with one of said contact elements while the other member remains idle and out of engagement with said other contact element, spring means adapted to individually disengage each of said members from its contact element, and stop means providing for definite distances of movement of said members.

RAYMOND P. LANSING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,132,602 Myers Mar. 23, 1915 1,833, 48 Lansing Dec. 1, 1931 1,844,731

Whittingham Feb, 9, 1932 

